1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly to a dust collecting apparatus for a vacuum cleaner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vacuum cleaners generally clean unclean surfaces by drawing in dust-laden air from the unclean surface, separating the dust from the drawn-in air, and depositing the dust in a dust collecting apparatus. Recently, cyclone dust collecting apparatus using a centrifugal force to perform the task of separating dust from the drawn-in air have been developing. Such cyclone dust collecting apparatus are becoming widely used because, unlike conventional dust bags, they are clean and long-lasting.
Conventional dust collecting apparatus comprise a cyclone unit with a cyclone chamber therein to separate the dust from the air using a centrifugal force, and a dust collection container with a dust collection chamber therein to accommodate dust after it has been separated from the air. The dust collecting container and cyclone unit are attached removably in order to facilitate the task of removing the dust from the dust collection chamber. In this situation, the cyclone unit is fixed in position on the housing of the vacuum cleaner, and the dust collection container is designed to be attached to the cyclone head separately.
A problem with this type of vacuum cleaner is that the fixed structure of the cyclone unit limits the potential for improvement of essential features thereof, such as the dust collection efficiency of the cyclone unit and the ease of maintenance and repair.